Archer thomas vernoist



(No Model.)

A. T. VERNON. MOSQUITO CANOPY.

No. 485,117. Patented Oct. 25, 1892.

THE mamas PEYKRS cu, moro-umu. WASHINGTON. n. c.,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ARCHER THOMAS VERNON, OF GREENSBOROUGH, NORTH CAROLINA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO OBED W. CARR AND DRED. PEACOCK,

OF SAME PLACE.

MOSQUITO-CANOPY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 485,117, dated October 25, 1892.

. Application filed July 30, 1891.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ARCHER THOMAS VER- NON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Greensborough, in the county of Guilford and State of North Carolina, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mosquito- Canopies; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference markedthereon,which form a partof this specification.

My invention relates to fly and mosquito canopies for attachment to bedsteads and other objects from which it is desired to exclude such insects; and it has forits object to so construct the canopy-frame that it may be easilyattached to and detached from the bedstead or other object; also, that it may be easily operated by the occupant of the bed while reclining upon the bed, and also that it may lie close to the side rails and head-board of the bed, so as to preclude the possibility of the flies or mosquitoes finding their way under the canopy.

For the accomplishment of the foregoing and such other objects as may hereinafter appear the invention consists in the construction and thecombination of parts, hereinafter particularly described, and then specifically defined by the claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof, and in which- Figure 1 is a perspective of a bedstead hav ing my canopy-frame and netting applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a detail view of the clamp to which the bolts of the canopy'frame are hinged and by which the frame is attached to the side rails of the bedstead. Fig. 3 is a side view of a portion of a bedstead, showing the canopy-frame thrown over the foot of the bed in the position which it bears when not in use and having the netting removed therefrom for clearness of illustration. Fig. 4 is a detail bottom plan of a portion of the bed-frame, showing the manner of attaching the netting under the side rails.

In the drawings the letter A designates a bedstead, to the side rails B of which are clamped or attached, by screws C or other- Serial No. 401,193. (No model.)

wise, plates D, which have pivotally secured to them by pivots E a series of bows F, of light metal or other suitable material, in a manner that will permit said bows to be folded up, as illustrated in Fig. 3, or to be opened out, as illustrated in Fig. 1, of the drawings. I have illustrated four bows F as constituting the canopy frame, but there may be only three bows, more or less, as desired, or found best. The bow next to the head-board of the bedstead is for convenience of reference designated by the letter F, and is constructed so that it may pass down in front of the head-board and lie close to the same, and also close to the side rails of the bedstead as far back as where its lower ends are pivoted to the plate D. In order that this may be edected, the transverse portion of the bow is preferably straight instead of curved, like the other bows. This is found to be the best form to serve the purpose, although it is not intended to restrictit to such particular form. The object in having this how F lie close to the head-board and to the side rails is that it may pass down over the edges of the mattress at the head of the bedstead, as illustrated, so that the netting maybe drawn close to the bed at those points, and thereby avoid leaving open spaces through which flies or mosquitoes might have ingress beneath the canopy. This formation and fitting of this rail also enables the netting to be drawn close to the headboard without dropping upon or coming uncomfortably near to the face of the person at rest upon the bed.

The netting, which is designated by the letter H, is secured to the bow F throughoutits entire length, so that it may be held by the bow close to the side rails of the bedstead and to the head-board and at such points be prevented from being pulled away from the bow. By securing the netting to the bow F, as described, it may be formed into folds along the length of said how, and thus eifectually exclude the ingress of the insects at such points. Another advantage resulting from thus securing the netting is the lifting and lowering of the netting with the movement of the bow, so that the annoyance of being obliged to throw back the netting after the bow is raised in order to move the netting out of the way is entirely overcome. The netting is tacked to the foot-board.

other bows at suitable points throughout their length and is allowed to drop down some distance below the bow next to the foot of the bedstead and is attached near its lower edge to a cord I, which extends from one plate D to the other and lies outside of the foot-board of the bed and the side rails and it can be drawn up, so as to hold the netting to said rails and This cord not only allows the netting to be drawn close to the foot of the bed, but also provides for attaching the netting beneath the side rails and foot-board of the bed by simply drawing down the cord and passing it beneath said rails and foot-board and there securing it by pins J, as illustrated in Fig. 4, or otherwise, as desired.

The plates D are secured to the side rails at such points as will permit the canopy-frame to be turned down over the foot-board of the bedstead, as illustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawings, and thus be moved out of the way, so that free access may be had to all portions of the bed-bottom and the mattress and bedclothes thereon. It will be observed, too, that when the bows are folded, as illustrated in Fig. 3, to lie beyond the foot-board of the bed they are supported by the plates D, to which they are pivoted, so that they are held up above the floor, thus preventing the netting from dropping onto the floor and permitting access to be had to all parts of the floor, the same as if the canopy was not used. It is to be observed, too, that by having the bows applied so that they will fold in the direction of the foot-board the occupant of the bed can manipulate the whole frame from the headboard portion of the bed and without the necessity of reaching to the foot of the bed to open out or shut up the frame, which would prove a very great inconvenience and annoyance. at the head of the frame as the occupant is to get into or out of the bed and slightly lifting that bow to relieve the weight at that end the weight of the bows next to the foot of the bed will draw the frame in that direction, so that but a slight effort is required on the part of the occupant to manipulate the frame. The bows are so relatively proportioned and adjusted that the moment the occupant releases the bow F from his grasp an equilibrium is established, and the frame will thus be held in any position desired, either wholly or only partially thrown back. It will be observed, further, that under the construction and arrangement described the bow next to the foot-board has only a limited movement in both directions, while the bow next to the head-board of the bed has a free movement from the head-board to and beyond the footboard. This is important for the purpose of allowing the easy manipulation of the frame from the head-board by a person in a reclining posture upon the bed and in order to permit the canopy to be entirely moved from over the bed.

The frame is simple in construction, can be By simply taking hold of the bow F' applied by the most inexperienced person, is not liable to get out of working order, is comparatively cheap in cost of manufacture, 1s easily manipulated, and is most effective 1n accomplishing the objects in view.

I have described and illustrated the frame as applied to a bedstead; but it is apparent that the invention is not confined to such particular application, as it is the samewherever it is used. I havealso described with particularity the details of construction of the several parts; but it is obvious to the mechanic that changes can be made in such details without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having described my invention and set forth its merits, what I claim is- 1. A canopy-frame composed of a series of bows adapted to be pivotally connected with the side rails of a bed-frame in a manner to permit the bows to be folded in the direction of the foot of the bed-frame to remove the canopy from over the bed and unfolded in the direction of the head-hoard of the bed to elevate the canopy over the bed, the bow next to the head-board having its transverse portion substantially straight and formed with a sharp bend where it will join the side portions of the bed to adapt the transverse portion to lie close to the head-board and the parallel portions close to the side rails of the bed, for the purposes set forth, and a netting secured to the several bows of the frame, said netting being secured to the bow next to the head-board throughout the length of said how, whereby it may be brought close to the head-board and the side rails, said netting being also extended below the bow next to the foot-board and adapted to be secured to the bed-frame at that point, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. In a mosquito-canopy, a frame adapted to be secured to the side rails of a bed-frame and composed of a series of pivotal bows, one of said bows being constructed to lie adjacent to the side rails with its transverse portion adjacent to the head-board and side rails when the canopy-frame is unfolded to cover the bed with the canopy, and a netting secured to said canopy-frame, a portion of said netting extending from the bow next to the foot-board to a point below the foot-board and side rails and provided with a cord extending from one side to the other of the frame to hold it close to the bed-frame and another portion of said netting being secured to the bow next to the head-board, whereby said bow will hold the netting close to the headboard and side rails of the bed next to the headboard, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ARCHER THOMAS VERNON. WVitnesses:

M. R. FARRAR, G. W. VERNON. 

